DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a new initiative to steer residents away from violent crime and provide them with a safe pathway.

The People of Promise program has identified up to 200 people most at risk of committing or being victims of violent crime.

Paul Winestock, a DC native, spent 23 years locked up in a federal penitentiary and knows how hard it is to get off to a good start after serving his sentence.

“Well, what I did was I started from within, I have a plan and a goal and I focused on what I wanted to do, and what I wanted to do , it was part of the solution and no longer part of the problem, and what I did was I started a nonprofit,” he said.

With help from the DC government, Winestock has opened a restaurant that employs people who have previously been incarcerated.

Through his nonprofit organization Saving Our Next Generation, Winestock also runs a Clean Streets Team made up of people who have had previous run-ins with the law, including Dezaz Washington.

“If I didn’t have this, honestly, I don’t know where I would be,” she said. “Actually, I have an apartment now.”

Bowser said a small number of people are responsible for a significant amount of violence in the city. By targeting them with the People of Promise program, she hopes it will make the city safer.

The mayor asked his cabinet to intervene.

“I’ve assigned members of my firm to work directly with the teams to ensure the people we work with get the services their circumstances require,” she said.

The mayor’s plan also includes hiring 20 life coaches who will help break the cycle of violence, poverty and incarceration.

The mayor’s effort includes $80 million for non-policing interventions: programs for citizens returning from jail to keep them out of trouble and give them a boost.